Waste Reduction and Recycling

In 2016/17 we generated 1,194 tonnes of waste which is an increase of 3% against 2015/16. The amount of waste recycled within this year increased by 1% to 34%.
We continue to recognise waste as a resource and by doing this have diverted 6.8 tonnes from disposal or recycling saving the University £78,000. We have also continued to support local charities, businesses and schools by building on our relationships and through better communication.  All porters have attended the University Environmental and Sustainability course which assist with the assessing of furniture for re-use and reporting non-compliance.

Annual waste audits continued to be carried out by Campus Services working with the Guild of Students covering both Academic and Residential buildings. This information will continue to be used to highlight waste issues in these areas and extra recycling bins will be placed where required. 

We have been working closely with our waste contractors in 2016/17 to improve our environmental performance. An audit by Facilities Management was carried with Shred-It, our paper recycling contractor, regarding number of consoles, locations and usage.  The outcome of this audit saw more labelling being placed on the consoles, some being re-sited and a couple being added. The contract was extended for a further year.  A bench marking visit to Bath University was carried out by members of the Facilities Management team regarding all waste streams and a report was submitted to the Facilities Head of Operations.   An audit was also carried out with PHS, our sanitary disposal contractor, prior to the extension of the contract.  We continue to work closely with our skip contractor and our waste contractor looking at other options to improve our recycling rates.

Targets and delivery strategies